How to Oil Paint Using a Toned Canvas

Painting Quickly, Tone the Canvas

 
 

When painting in Plein Air and doing quick studies or even more finished paintings this is a technique to help color structure and make your painting stronger. Here is what you do:

1. Get a large brush one that will cover your canvas quickly.

2. Mix up a brown or use burnt umber than thin it down to the consistency of heavy cream.

3. Apply it over the surface of the canvas thinly(not the full strength of the color). Tint the white of the canvas.

4. Now use mix a darker brown and draw in your scene.

5. Now for each object quickly paint in the light and shadow sides of your objects.Using simple shapes.

6.Now develop your objects by adding the color nuances and more complex shapes or details and finish you painting.

Here is what this technique does for you first it kills the white of you canvas so you don’t have any specs of white showing through your finished painting. Also since you are mixing all your colors into a brown it have less of a chance of creating color structure problems in your paintings. There are many variations to toned canvas techniques this is just one of many.

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